


Super Space Dad To The Rescue!

by loOkMA_iTyPeLiKeDiS



Series: Plance Through The Years [6]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: (but like in a T rated way lmao), Dialogue Heavy, Gen, Important Conversations, Pidge is scared, Space Dad Shiro (Voltron), discussions about sex, soft angst, this is actually a serious story tho
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-25
Updated: 2019-01-25
Packaged: 2019-10-16 06:32:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,359
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17544533
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loOkMA_iTyPeLiKeDiS/pseuds/loOkMA_iTyPeLiKeDiS
Summary: Shiro’s status as Space Dad may have diminished since they’d come back to Earth, but he would gladly don the mantle again if Pidge needed his support.





	Super Space Dad To The Rescue!

**Author's Note:**

> space dad!shiro has now been upgraded to space _grandad_ shiro lmao ^^

Shiro liked to think he knew the paladins really well.

What entertained them, their least favourite things to do, what made them tick, what gave them joy.

It came with the territory of being their pseudo guardian in space for so many years, and even all these years later, he still was pretty good at telling when they were off. Like Pidge, who despite her twenty-one years of age, still exhibited the exact same kind of withdrawn behaviour when she was upset that she had as a fifteen year old. Honestly, it kind of amused Shiro that she took the same aggressive brooding approach Keith did when he was upset, and he was an expert at cheering Keith up, so Pidge couldn’t be too difficult.

It’d been a surprise to him when she asked to come along and work out with him and Keith that day, and though Keith was off doing some dynamic duo thing with his mom and couldn’t make it, Pidge had still come nonetheless. But she wasn’t speaking much and above that, was clearly taking her anger out on the equipment which was fine and all, but the tension in her shoulders and borderline scowl was worrisome. Something was truly bothering her, and Shiro didn’t like to see her so upset.

If he had to hazard a guess, it had something to do with Lance.

It wasn’t like they’d confirmed that they were going steady to anyone, but Shiro was observant and about a month ago he’d definitely started to notice periodic hickies on Pidge and Lance’s neck that they were both careless in hiding. Not to mention Keith had told him Lance and Pidge had come to visit him together that time he caught some Galra flu and they’d been dressed a little too formally which was… odd to say the least.

Shiro wouldn’t necessarily say his suspicions were grounded in any concrete evidence, and truth be told, the two of them didn’t particularly act any different than normal around each other, so really Pidge could have been with anyone, but it was a vibe Shiro got. Some kind of father’s intuition—his _daditude_ —that told him everything was not as it seemed between them.

(Plus he’d definitely caught Sam Holt unconsciously mean mugging Lance).

So his logical conclusion was that Pidge’s current plight was related to Lance. And whatever he’d done was messing her up, but honestly, Shiro had been watching her destroy this workout for nearly three hours and he believed she needed to stop bottling in her feelings.

“Pidge.” Shiro set a gentle hand on her shoulder before she could punch a hole in the punching bag. She glanced at him over her shoulder, breathing really hard and clearly annoyed. “We’ve been here for almost three hours now. I understand this is a great outlet to release your emotions, but your entire hand is pretty red and I think you’ve pushed your body beyond its limits. Do you want to take a break and get coffee or something?”

She sniffed, wiping some sweat from her forehead and gave him a small, wary smile. “Actually, that does sound kind of nice…”

“Good. I’ll meet you out front.”

He waited for her to get her stuff from the lockers and once she met him at the front, they made their way to the small Galaxy Greenbacks nearby that Keith tended to frequent when he wasn’t on some adventure with his mom. Shiro felt bad subjecting the people at the café to the smell of their pig sweat from their lengthy workout, but Pidge seemed to have enjoyed her hot chocolate, even though she was fidgeting in her seat, sighing under breath every few seconds, and slumping her shoulders. Shiro had worked through all of his sandwich, and she’d already finished most all of her drink and her slice of cheesecake but the longer they sat there quietly, the more restless he grew.

“You know, Pidge,” he started, drawing her attention from pedestrians outside the window and back to him, “I know I’ve been out of this role for years and I may be a bit rusty, but I’ll always be your dorky space dad. If you need someone to talk to, I’ll listen.”

It drew a surprised, genuine laugh from her, and Shiro couldn’t help his own smile at seeing her face light up for the first time in the three hours they’d been hanging out.

“Except you’re definitely sexy space gramps now though, Old Timer.”

“Okay, this Old Timer business is getting really old…” Shiro drawled, giving her a dry look. “You guys have been calling me and Allura that for two years now. Don’t you think it’s time to put it to bed?”

“Not a chance, Paw-paw.” Pidge snickered.

Shiro rolled his eyes in exasperation. “But seriously, I’m always here if you need to rant.”

“Thanks.” Pidge picked at the sleeve of her cup, her gaze on the table as her cheeks flushed. “I appreciate it Shiro, but uh, this is something I need Keith for.”

“I can channel Keith if you’d like?” Shiro didn’t want to push her, but Keith probably wouldn’t return for a couple weeks and he didn’t want her bottling up her emotions like this. He removed his glasses and leaned back in his chair, arms crossed in front of his chest and the best deadpan scowl he could muster on his face. “Why is it always me you come to whenever you want to rant? And then you always make me pay for your shit.”

“Oh, that’s actually spot on.” Pidge grinned. “Perfect amount of playful snark and you’re dead on with the expression on his face. A plus work, Shiro.”

“Well, I do consider myself something of an expert on Keith conduct. Anything less than perfect is unacceptable.” Shiro gave her an earnest look. “It’s up to you. Think you want to substitute your usual snark buddy for me today?”

Pidge hummed, watching him a bit uneasily, but the tension in her body loosened a bit, and he could tell she’d accepted his offer when she sighed. She took a nervous sip from her cup, her fingers trembling just the slightest bit as she set it down.

“Look, only Keith knows about this for sure, and I think Hunk _may_ have figured it out, and somehow I think my dad knows, but I’ve kind of been keeping it a secret.” She chewed on her lower lip as she peeled back a layer of the cardboard sleeve on her cup. “The truth is: Lance and I… uhh, we’re kind of together. Like _together_ together. Started dating last month and he recently started calling me his girlfriend so umm, yeah. We’re official. We haven’t really told anyone yet because we’re still trying to get used to _us_ , you know?”

Shiro had already suspected that, but he gave her an encouraging smile nonetheless. “It’s been years of pining. I’m glad to see you both finally took that step.”

“And we’re fine. We’re good. We’re totally happy, but...” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly, her face slowly growing more and more red. “We made a mistake. A few nights ago.”

Despite his efforts to keep his smile, he felt it slip the tiniest bit from her tone. He masked the subtle change in his expression by hiding his face behind his cup and taking small sips of his dark caramel hot chocolate.

“What kind of mistake? Are you okay?”

“No, yeah. I’m fine. It’s not life-threatening. We just— we crossed a line. God, I don’t know how to say this…” Pidge chuckled miserably and scrubbed her face with both hands as she brought her gaze back up to Shiro’s. “Umm… we slept together.”

It took everything in his power not to choke on his drink, despite the fact that the hot liquid went down the wrong pipe from her admission. Shiro cleared his throat, setting his cup down rapidly and trying to fight the watering of his eyes.

Man, he knew he wasn’t related to her, but Pidge was definitely a lot like a younger sister or pseudo daughter to him in some ways and it didn’t make it any less awkward for him to hear that she was sexually active. It was not something he’d been prepared to hear.

“W-well that sounds comfortable. I hope you got enough rest,” he joked, his ears red and feeling completely out of his element.

“Are you seriously dad joking right now? And not even a good one!” Pidge’s brows furrowed. “See, this is why I need Keith! He doesn’t react or tease me to pieces like Hunk does. He just listens and gives me wise advice. Plus you’re completely red right now, and this is pretty awkward, so maybe we should just pretend this conversation never happened.”

“Katie, I’m sorry.” Shiro sighed, definitely feeling like an idiot for nearly bungling a very important conversation. It was awkward, but he would put up with his discomfort so Pidge could feel better. “It was unexpected is all. I didn’t mean to make you feel like you didn’t have my support. I’ll listen. What happened to make you so upset? Did Lance do something unpleasant to you?”

“He was the perfect gentleman. That’s not the issue.” She scratched the back of her head and went back to staring out the café window. “I just— we came from a movie and went back to his apartment because we were kind of bored and I don’t know… we were kissing on his couch and we were just messing around at first but then things got so… so… I-I don’t know and I’m not sure how we jumped from point A to point Z but we both weren’t thinking straight and it just _happened_. Before I knew it, I lost my virginity and when I left his place, I could barely look him in the eye.”

Shiro’s brows drew down in concern. “How has Lance handled this?”

“I don’t know… I haven’t talked to him since then. It’s not like it was bad and it’s not like we were necessarily waiting or anything, but I just feel like it was all so rushed and I’m not really sure what to think about it because I’d always imagined when we did go that far, it would be a little more classy than on some random night on the floor of his living room. And it didn’t really hit me that we had sex until I got home and I just cried all night. I can’t even figure out why I’m really upset about it. We both care about each other and he was so gentle. As far as first times go, I think mine wasn’t as bad as some of the horror stories I’ve heard, but…”

“You _are_ in a fairly new relationship, and sex _does_ change things,” Shiro responded, reaching out and taking her wringing hands in his to give her a comforting squeeze. “I understand the feeling, even though it might be a slightly different scenario. But I went through something similar a long time ago, the first time I bottomed for my ex. I was always a top in the past. I refused to be a bottom because of the level of vulnerability it involves. But once you share something like that with your SO, you breach a sort of barrier in your intimacy that makes you feel like you can’t hide anything from them anymore. And that feeling can be jarring because it makes you feel defenceless.”

“Right? We’ve already gone and done _that_ and it scares me, you know?” Her voice wavered a bit, but she looked relieved he understood. “I’ve been avoiding him and all his calls and texts and I know it’s not a good idea, but it’s crazy to me because we’ve already blown past any boundaries and it’s like… he’s seen _all_ of me. Not just physically, you know?”

Shiro nodded, rubbing the top of her hands with his thumbs. “That’s understandable. You’re fiercely private, Pidge. It’s not a crime that you’re not ready to wrap your mind around the fact that you’ve opened yourself up to someone so completely. Uhh, pun not intended.”

Her lips twitched like she was trying not to smile. “You’re pushing your luck, Shiro. Strike two.”

“Sorry.”

Pidge sighed. “I just keep thinking now that I gave it up so early, what if he gets bored of me? What’s left there for him to want to stay with me, you know? What if there’s nothing to look forward to for him anymore? What if our connection deteriorates because he’s gotten what he wants from me?”

“Pidge, you know Lance better than that. He would never do that to you,” Shiro refuted sharply. “And I highly doubt through all your years of struggle to finally get to this point where you're happily in a relationship, his only thought process was ‘I want to bang Pidge’.”

“You don’t know that. Lance isn’t a dick, but it’s not like I was oblivious to the wandering hands when we made out. Plus there were the looks I would catch him giving me sometimes. He’s clearly been holding back this whole time because the moment I basically gave him permission he went for it.”

“Because he likes you. He’s attracted to you,” Shiro tried to explain, gesturing to Pidge’s phone with his chin when it lit up with a call from Lance. “He’s a young adult male, Pidge. He’s going to think about sex with his girlfriend. But trust me, if all he wanted was that from you, he wouldn’t still be calling you right now. He wouldn’t be making an effort to try to reunite with his frightened girlfriend who decided to just suddenly stop talking to him after he also opened up and was vulnerable around her through a really intimate act.”

She grimaced. “…He’s probably thinking the worst right now.”

“Yeah, Pidge. You running away when you need to talk about this is probably hurting Lance just as much as it's hurting you.”

“I know you’re right, but I’m just nervous. We’re still working out the kinks of our relationship and getting to know each other in a romantic sense and now there’s this added element of sex between us and we were definitely not ready for that. Well, _I_ wasn’t ready for that and I have this attachment now that I’m not sure how to deal with.”

“You don’t have to deal with it all at once, you know? Take it bit by bit.”

Pidge sighed and nodded.

“What matters is that you discuss this _together_. You need to communicate your fears with him, Pidge. Lance will understand. But you can’t just run from your issues. That will only make them worse.” Shiro gently tugged on her hands when she started to stare at the table in shame. “If you really aren’t ready for a sexual relationship, let him know. If you want to slow things down, let him know. He has a choice to either respect your boundaries or not to, although if he chooses the latter, you better believe every one of us is going to come after him with torches and pitchforks. But you _have to_ talk.”

She gave him a weak smile. “Not bad for an amateur Keith, Paw-paw.”

“I try.”

“Thanks though.” Pidge still had that lingering unease in her gaze, but she looked a lot more relaxed than when they’d met up earlier. “I think… I think that was exactly what I needed to hear.”

He nodded, letting her hands go when she pulled them back. “If it’s a fear of intimacy issue, take a step back and take your time until you’re really ready. But you’re in a reciprocal relationship with Lance. You both need to go through these things together so your relationship can grow in a healthy way.”

“Yeah. I’ll tell him I want to slow everything down. Maybe start from scratch.” Pidge stretched her arms above her head with a yawn. “Now I just need to gather some courage to face him in person.”

“You’ll figure it out.” Shiro chuckled, standing up as Pidge did and gathering their trash. “In the meantime, would you like me to give you a ride back to your parent’s home?”

“I’d appreciate that. And remember: you don’t have to drive twenty under the speed limit, Old Timer.”

“I hate you all,” he said decisively.

Pidge cackled as they left the café, ignoring the playful glares Shiro kept sending her way. It didn’t matter though. She was decidedly more chipper than before as they headed back to where he’d parked his car. She still hadn’t texted Lance yet and Shiro wasn’t going to keep reminding her, but he knew she would put it off as long as she reasonably could if only to avoid discomfort for the time being. He was trying to figure out some way to let her know even a simple response text would help make the process of reconciliation a little smoother, but when he looked up from looking for his keys, Shiro was surprised to see Lance standing on the sidewalk by the doors of the gym. Pidge inhaled sharply and came to a dead stop and Shiro almost ran right into her back.

Lance turned to face them, a look of relief passing through his features, though he didn’t make any moves to head over to them.

“Hunk told me you guys would be here. Hey, Shiro,” Lance muttered, a slight look of pain in his eyes as his gaze drifted down to his girlfriend. “Pidge…”

Shiro caught the subtle step back Pidge took and he didn’t know if she was about to run away again, but whenever she was confronted with an issue she wasn’t ready to handle, she made it a habit of running. And as her superhero pseudo dad, he wasn’t going to let her keep holding things off like this. Shiro placed his hand on her back and nudged her hard, and she stumbled forward, almost losing her footing as she came to an abrupt stop in front of Lance.

“Remember what we talked about, Pidge,” Shiro reminded her calmly.

She glanced at him over her shoulder, her eyes a little wide with fear and looking like a deer in headlights, but when Shiro gave her a cheesy thumbs-up, Pidge released the breath she was holding and turned back to Lance.

She cleared her throat. “Lance, listen… we uhh… we need to talk about that night.”

“I know.” Lance reached out and stroked her cheek and when she didn’t recoil, Shiro couldn’t help his proud smile. “Are you okay?”

“I… I will be.” She smiled nervously up at Lance as he tugged her into a gentle hug. “I’m sorry for avoiding your calls. And you. I just… I need time. What we did was just… I-I don’t know…”

“It’s fine. I understand you need time after what happened. It was too intense.” He combed a hand through her hair and cradled her cheek. “I just wish you would talk to me. I’m a little scared too, Pidge.”

Pidge sniffled. “I’m sorry.”

Lance’s smile was warm. “Don’t be. I’m just happy you still want to be together.”

Pidge nodded and buried her face in his coat. “That’s my line…”

And Shiro could see he really wasn’t needed now.

Pidge had this.

They were lost in their own little world, plus he could see plain as day that Lance was just as smitten as Pidge was—maybe more so—and that glow in his gaze when he looked at her was sheer evidence that there was no way he would ever want anyone else in the world other than Pidge. Her fears were absolutely disproven by Lance’s clear affection. She had him totally wrapped around her pinkie finger—and she was wrapped around his—and honestly, Shiro couldn’t tell why she’d been so terrified in the first place.

But they would be okay.

And that was what mattered.


End file.
